Tuesday 28 July 2015

Lollywood Ishtyle: Bin Roye's Glittering Outfits

I saw Bin Roye this weekend, and left the film in love with the beautiful outfits, sets and scenes. Mahira Khan looks amazing in the film and the film itself is really, all about her. I haven't seen many Pakistani films over the years, and I'm not sure this one falls into Lollywood (which I remember from my childhood being Punjabi films with a lot of shouting, over-acting and heroes jumping off buildings!)

I wanted to post some of the outfits showcased in the film - the images below are from both the film and also from the launch of Bin Roye's music at Telenor Bridal Couture Week 2015 last month, where the designer outfits worn were modelled by the main actors and reknowned Pakistani models.

First is this iconic outfit by Feeha Jamshed, which I love the colour combination of - yellow, royal blue and bronze accents. I've seen a few outfits in the Pakistani fashion trends with sequins all over, it works on some and doesn't on others - this one pulls it off with a lovely sparkle and glamour.


This is the outfit as worn by Mahira in the 'Balle Balle' song, which is actually a fun song because it reminded me of some of the dholki songs my sisters and I know. This is one of my favourite looks on Mahira mainly because of the swishy skirt and the simple block colours which work well together.


The next outfit I immediately recognised was this Elan outfit, from PFDC L’oreal Paris Bridal Week in 2012 - I recognised it especially because it's a pretty popular outfit and I love the soft colours and the heavy work. I couldn't find a picture of Armeena Khan wearing it in the fil, but it looks pretty much the same (except she has the dupatta pinned to her head in a bridal style).


I also loved this bridal by Sania Maskatiya, which was really pretty in orange, red and yellow, and ideal for the mehndi scene. It's a very traditional look which you just can't go wrong with, and looks pretty much the same as worn by Armeena on the catwalk (except the border of the dupatta which looks slightly different but that's minor)



It took me a good while to find out where the next outfit was from, I had to ask a few of my friends who are fashion aficionados like myself before I found out it was by Elan (I kept thinking it was Elan because it reminded me of their older designs) I liked the classic cut of this outfit but was less keen on the two-tone look of the fabric and the colour of the dupatta, which I think would have worked better as a deeper colour.


This is the outfit worn by Mahira in the film although with a skirt rather than with a salwar - I loved the brocade print of the skirt and the deep teal colour of it, and thought it went with the rust coloured kameez pretty well.


I also loved this sharara outfit which was modelled by Sabeeka Imam in the Bin Roye music launch, I couldn't find a picture of Mahira wearing it but it looks the same, except Mahira has her hair loose! It's a lovely traditional outfit and I think it works well as a formal.


The last bridal I found from this film is another Elan outfit, although I don't remember seeing this one in the film even though it was part of the Bin Roye catwalk, so I either missed it or it didn't end up in the film.

This outfit is a traditional deep red and purple outfit which is really heavily worked - I liked it but I found it a little too heavy as a bridal, and it not something I would pick myself. I liked the way it was styled on the model, although the jewellery on Mahira looked lovely too.


I also liked some of the simpler outfits worn by Mahira, I won't post them all but you can see the rest here - there were a lot of simple Punjabi-style salwar kameezes and casual suits which I thought was a nice touch for the casuals-at-home-look. 

Both of these remind me of other outfits I've seen in other films before, but Mahira looks lovely in them because she keeps it simple, her hair is loose and the jewellery is never overdone.



The last few outfits I wanted to post were these Elan (1 and 2) and Sania Maskatiya (3) ones below that are also worn in the film, which I loved because of the colours and the floral embroidery - all perfect wedding formals and Eid outfits!


It's really great to see Pakistani designers getting some visibility on the big screen - I'm so used to seeing the Bollywood go-to designers such as Manish Malhotra that it's nice to see Pakistani trends getting some screen time!

The film itself was a nice watch, a little too girly and romantic for me (I do like my sci-fi!) but I went with some close girl friends and we had a lot of fun watching the film. It was also nice to see some Eid scenes and Chand raat scenes as well, which was fun and made me want to visit Pakistan!

Friday 24 July 2015

Our Eid...Day Two!

On the second day of Eid, we all decided to make the most of the sun and go to a nearby park to enjoy an Eid Fair. It was more of a relaxed day for us so we all wore comfortable outfits and dresses.


This is what I wore, a pale blue (nearly) maxi anarkali dress with a silk print hem and embroidery on the neckline area, with simple gold khussay flats. I bought this outfit for my collection when I was getting married to wear to some of the dholkis - it's super comfortable and the material is a soft breathable cotton (a little like chikankari material) which is perfect for the summer weather.



We spent the afternoon looking at outfits and scarves, buying hot food and cupcakes and spending most of our time on the rides (we even got all of our mums on the tea-cup ride which was cute!)
We also found a halal sweet store so managed to get a bag of those to eat on the way home!



It was a really nice end to Eid festivities, and a lovely way to spend time with family - my nieces and nephews all enjoyed themselves (and we took plenty of pictures with ice cream all over their faces!)

What did you do on your Eid weekend?

Wednesday 22 July 2015

Our Eid...Day One!

Eid was a really nice affair for us this weekend, mainly because it felt quite easy-going for us and we all spent a good amount of time relaxing, eating and spending time together - there's usually a lot of rushing around with various people having to get to in-laws and relatives houses, which didn't feel so bad this time!

Here's a peek at what I wore on Eid, a jade coloured jacket suit by Pakistani label Zainab Hasan, with criss-cross designs and floral embroidery all over the jacket. I had originally intended to wear this outfit on the main day of Eid, and didn't really think I would buy anything new for Eid, mainly because everything was pretty pricey and I didn't see anything I love. More on this soon, but I saw this in a shop (while I was meant to be looking for something else!) and fell in love with the outfit, then talked myself (using my sister as a sounding board!) into buying it!


This is me wearing the outfit (and posing in my mum's garden!) - I loved LOVED how light and comfy this outfit was and how easy it was to wear - I didn't wear a lot of jewellery but I did pair with sparkly heels and red lips to finish off the look.


I had done my own mehndi the night before on my hand (I wanted to get my husband to do my right hand but he just said he would write the alphabet on my hand so I decided to leave it!). I didn't know what bangles to wear so opted for a pretty kundan bracelet and a floral shaped ring, both from Bees, given to me by my husband when we got married as part of my bridal trousseu.

I wanted to make the patterns more intricate and neater than it ended up, and it looked a little wonky. but I liked the colour anyway!


This is my eldest sister's mehndi which she had gotten done as well, I love how neat it looked and the fact that both hands were symmetrical. My other sister had also gotten mehndi done but I forgot to take a photo of hers!


The ladies were, of course, dressed up in beautiful outfits, I didn't get everyone but here's a few -  my sister in the hot pink and blue ombre suit got her outfit stitched (amazingly enough, in time for Eid) which looked really pretty on her, and my sister-in-law wore a gorgeous hot pink, black and white Zainab Chottani jacket suit which I loved. My niece, on the right, bought a beautiful satin printed kurta, which I loved - her mum replaced the boring buttons with beautiful emerald and white stone buttons, which was a really lovely detail.


The babies, as usual, took the main stage as divas - these are what the younger four nieces wore - I love the mix of colour and styles and the fact that they were all such lovely, summery colours.



We also had some yummy treats to enjoy (I also took about three cupcakes home to eat as well, then had to find my husband for them) - the cupcakes were made by one of my sisters, while the fresh-cream cake was given by a cousin of ours. We also had some very yummy food made by my mum, but I actually forgot to take photos of these for once!



I also wanted to show the eye-makeup I had, which I did mainly using the Urban Decay Naked palette. I initially wanted to do a smokey eye, but i loved the glowy pink look of this look so left it was it was, and paired with a matte scarlet lip, Mac's Russian Red, for a dramatic look.


We had a really fun Eid, and it was a peaceful day spent with family and toddler babies, not to mention a bucket load of chocolate (which I really missed during Ramadan!)

I hope you all had a great Eid (regardless of the day you spent it on!) and got lots of presents and/or money, lots of food and that you all looked beautiful!

Tuesday 21 July 2015

Chand Raat / Eid Night

My family and I have developed a tradition of usually going to my eldest sister's house for iftar dinner the night before Eid, being a good way to start Eid celebrations. We tend to get together to eat, put mehndi on and watch toddlers be naughty - it's also a great opportunity for us to get dressed up!

This is what I wore, a peach kameez with apple green accents and deep red dupatta - I had bought a separate pair of trousers in pearl pink jamawar material to glam out the outfit but didn't end up wearing it because it didn't really match. I stuck to the original plain peach trousers, but I'll wear the jamawar one with another outfit soon!


The other thing which was new was my shoes - my sisters found them a little too loud but I loved them, and they added a little rainbow sparkle to the outfit!


This is me wearing the outfit (I took the opportunity to pose before we left the house because I knew I'd forget to take proper pictures later!)


I also wanted to include a quick shot of how I did my eye makeup - I used a new loose pigment eyeshadow I'd been meaning to try called Old Gold by Mac Cosmetics. It was a pretty colour, and looked two tone but also had a slightly lime-ish tone to it as well so I'm not sure how well it went with my outfit!


The dinner at my sister's house was fabulous - there were a variety of dishes which we stuffed ourselves with, although our appetites were a little shrunken so we didn't fit a lot into our stomachs!



My sisters, mum and my niece had gotten their mehndi done by a friend who did an amazing job - here's a few pictures of the designs on their hands.



I also loved my nieces outfits too (I did try to get pics of my nephews but neither of them would stand still long enough!) - my eldest niece wore a beautiful teal maxi dress and the two little ones wore pretty lace dresses with leggings. My sister and I thought the dresses with the legging gave a very pretty Lucknow-style 50s look!


My husband and I wanted to head out to local streets after dinner so I could browse the shops and perhaps get some mehndi done - unfortunately it was pretty late and the roads were packed. I wasn't willing to wait around in the blocked traffic to get mehndi done so ended up going home and doing it myself - luckily my sister had a spare cone to give me!

Did you do anything on Chand Raat? Did you get any mehndi done?

Saturday 18 July 2015

Eid Mubarak...!

It's been a lovely Eid weekend (and still continuing to be!) - I hope you all had/are having a lovely weekend with good food and good company! Here's a peek at my outfits this weekend, more to come!!

Thursday 16 July 2015

Junaid Jamshed comes to London..!

Reknowned Pakistani designer Junaid Jamshed opened his latest store in east London last weekend, via brand merchants Janan, just in time for Eid shopping!

My mum's a fan of this brand, she's bought some of the suits Junaid Jamshed before in Pakistan, and loved the quality of the suits - so it was only natural that we'd want to check the store out when it launched.


The one thing which really struck me about this store was the decor - I love the wooden panelling, the Moroccan-inspired walls and the beautiful dark wood, which makes such a change from the usual white flooring and bright lights I've seen most boutiques have!

The store itself also has a good range - women, men and children's ready-made outfits, unstitched fabrics, perfumes and ouds as well as a jewellery range.




The clothes themselves are great for summer time, gorgeous prints and embroidery and right on trend - shorter kameezes with beautiful hems, cropped pants and a variety of colours.


 All pictures courtesy of Junaid Jamshed PR group and do not belong to me

I'm waiting to see what else comes to the store over the next few weeks, so far we haven't bought anything yet (mainly because we're keeping an eye out for potential Eid outfits!) but I'm sure we'll snap something up soon!

I noticed the fact that there's also a bunch of other stores which have opened around the world in Pakistan, America and Dubai, which shows what a global brand this is, and also how wearable their clothes are.

What do you think of this brand? Have you seen anything which has caught your eye for Eid?